LETTING TRAVOLTA OUT OF HIS CAGE

"Face/Off" (1997)
Directed by John Woo 

   When you star in a movie opposite Nicolas Cage, it's difficult to get noticed, even when you're a famous actor. Cage is so well known for bonkers performances, it's hard not to give the man all of your attention, but I would like to take the time to also celebrate the performance of his co-star, John Travolta.
   In FACE/OFF, Cage is appropriately casted as the eccentric villain, while Travolta is the boy scout-type hero. If this was all the movie was, a wild Cage performance would be enough to make it memorable, but what really makes this action film so weirdly unforgettable, is that early in the story, the hero and the villain switch faces via an experimental face transplant procedure and spend the rest of the film acting like each other.

  

    John Travolta is essentially the villain of this film. Now that he has the villain's identity, most of the film's running time, is Travolta acting like Cage...or you could say, acting like a madman. With Cage, we're used to this type of behavior on screen, but not with Travolta. This could ONLY work if the actor playing the part, not only commits to the over the top performance that he must deliver, but also if that actor is someone that we wouldn't typically expect it from. Granted, he's not nutso for the whole film. After all, he must convince people that he's still FBI Special Agent, Sean Archer. But when he does get to show off his crazy colors, he does so perfectly. 

   I love Travolta in this film. He travels back and forth throughout the story, as normal, crazy and "crazy acting normal". The transitions between all of these different versions of himself are seamless. This leads me to wonder why no one has ever casted Travolta to play a Cage-esque character since then. If we know he can do it and his name carries movie star appeal, why not give it a shot? 

   Travolta has struggled over the years to remain relevant in movies. He never stops getting work, but it's been awhile since he's been a hot topic of conversation. It's odd that a person who works so much, would be considered in need of a comeback. For fans, such a comeback would be in the form of an artistic comeback, not a "Oh, he's finally getting work again" comeback. 

   

   If I could wave my magic wand and insert John Travolta into a new film that reminds people of his charisma and talent, I would put him into a bizarre dramatic art film that no one would ever expect to see him in. One where Travolta could give the type of performance that people may think, "I wonder why they didn't give this part to Nicolas Cage?"

   It doesn't matter to me one way or another if John Travolta ever gets to be in another decent movie ever again. There's a handful of films that he's made over the years that I love and no one can ever take those away from me or him. But having re-watched FACE/OFF recently and admiring the performance that he gives in it, it's hard as a fan to not want to experience that type of magic at least one more time.